Forest troll
Long before the rise and fall of the kingdoms of men, the Amani trolls of Lordaeron had built an enormous troll empire. After centuries of war and hate, an alliance of elves and humans finally dealt a crushing blow to the Amani when they defeated a great troll army at the foot of the Alterac Mountains. The empire did not recover from the defeat, and the trolls never rose as one nation again. Yet some forest trolls survived, each generation nurturing their hatred of the elves in the dark forests of the north for thousands of years. During the Second War, the Amani trolls were briefly allied to the Horde, and the forest troll Zul'jin was one of the greatest heroes the trolls have ever known. Introduction As their name suggests, these trolls are found in forests - at least, forests not dominated by elves or other humanoid species. Some forest trolls are jealous of their jungle and ice kin, as these forest trolls have never known the glories of their own kingdom. Forest trolls hold all other races in contempt-especially high elves, whom they consider the despoilers of their ancient homeland. (The civilization of the forest trolls of Lordaeron predates that of the high elves by several thousand years.) They will only work with others if it means the elimination of an even more hated enemy. They allied with the Horde during the Second War in this manner, abandoning the orcs after their defeat. Forest troll culture is tribal and as primitive as their dark troll cousins. Though not as violent as dark trolls, forest trolls nonetheless have a fearsome reputation in battle. History In the depths of time Forest trolls are native to northern Lordaeron. In the time before the rise of the night elves, the trolls ruled the vast Amani Empire. Together with the jungle troll's Gurubashi Empire they fought the Aqir, eventually disrupting the insectoid empire into two nations. It is rumoured that exiles from the Amani Empire journeyed to the Well of Eternity and were transformed into the first night elves, though this has never been proven. With the arising of the night elves the Amani Empire was all but dismantled with the primitive magics the Kaldorei wielded. With the arrival of the Burning Legion the forest trolls retreated into the wilderness and took no direct part in the conflict. The rebuilding and the Troll Wars In the aftermath of Kalimdor's shattering, the forest trolls began to once again expand their lands across the newly formed Lordaeron, naming their new territory Zul'Aman. However the arrival of the high elves lead to a burning rivalry that would last millenia. The high elves founded their new Kingdom on an ancient troll city that was sacred. This led to the forest trolls attacking the fledgling elven kingdom for the desecration of their city. The stubborn elves, by using magic, drove the trolls back and for a time no conflict arose between the elves and trolls. After two thousand years had passed the Amani warbands struck out of Zul'Aman determined to destroy the high elves once and for all. They scored victory after victory against the elves, pushing them slowly back. The desperate elves forged an alliance with the human empire of Arathor, teaching a hundred humans the way of magic. The combined human and elf armies met the trolls at the base of the Alterac Mountains. For days the trolls assaulted the allies' lines until at the right moment, when the human and elven magi unleashed a fury of fiery magic onto the forest troll army. The searing flames stopped the troll's wounds from regenerating and then the humans advanced, slaughtering most of the troll army and driving them back into Zul'Aman. The trolls suffered a defeat from which they would never recover. The Second War At the time of the Second War the orcish Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer offered an alliance to the forest trolls. They initially declined until learning of the high elves' induction into the Alliance. Fearing for the Forest trolls' safety, one troll, Zul'jin did what no other forest troll had done since the Troll Wars: he united the numerous tribes of Zul'Aman under one banner and joined the Horde. The forest trolls contributed their Axe Throwers, Berserkers and Destroyer ships to the forces of the Horde, but when defeat seemed imminent the trolls abandoned the Horde as suddenly as they joined. The Present In the aftermath of the Second War, the forest trolls returned to the old ways of rivalry and fighting between the tribes. However, the recent fall of Quel'Thalas and Lordaeron led to a unique opportunity to once again expand the influence of the forest trolls. One tribe, the Revantusks who still felt some loyalty toward the Horde agreed to a pact of friendship and mutual assistance with the new Horde under Thrall, but declined to rejoin them as they also remembered the recklessness and corruption of the first Horde. Although the forest trolls are spread throughout Eastern Kingdoms, a fair percentage of forest trolls fell to the Lich King's powers. They have lost their will and are undead. Culture Magic and Religion Like other trolls, forest trolls practice Voodoo magic as well as Shamanism and Priest magics. The forest trolls also worship a Serpent Goddess called Ula-tek. She appears to be one of the Loa, as she is the Primal God invoked by Venoxis in Zul'Gurub. A small minority of forest trolls also worship Hakkar the Soulflayer, though his cult never achieved the dominance it enjoyed among the jungle trolls. Relationships Forest trolls are vicious and cunning. As cannibals they eat the flesh of their enemies and even sometimes each other. Forest trolls have few allies, they hate orcs who they see as weak and who failed on their promise to return the forest trolls to their former glory. Many of tribes of forest trolls are also hostile towards each other. The Revantusk tribe is the only tribe friendly towards the Horde. Relations between the Alliance and the forest trolls is unknown as it has not been stated anywhere, but they no doubt hold a grudge towards the humans for helping the high elves at the end of the conflict between the trolls and high elves. Forest trolls and high elves Forest trolls and high elves see each other as sworn enemies. The trolls hate the elves as they invaded their lands and almost wiped them out, and the elves see the forest trolls as barbarians intent on destroying their homeland. The high elves had been in the dominant position for centuries since the Troll Wars. However, with the recent destruction of their homeland, the elves are weakened and the forest trolls see a chance for revenge. Notable Forest trolls * Zul'jin - leader of forest troll forces during the Second War. Arguably the most important individual troll in history. Current Leader of the Amani Tribe. * Hex Lord Malacrass * Primal Torntusk - leader of the Revantusk trolls. * Vile Priestess Hexx - Ruler of the Vilebranch tribe. * War Master Voone - Chief of the Smolderthorn tribe. Description Due to a mutation that took place many millennia ago, the forest trolls' bodies can support plant life to a limited extent. A thin layer of moss inevitably grows on the skin of forest trolls shortly after they are born and gives them their characteristic green coloring. Locations in World of Warcraft *Eversong Woods **Tor'Watha **Zeb'Watha *Ghostlands **Amani Catacombs **Zeb'Nowa **Zeb'Sora **Zeb'Tela **Zul'Aman *Arathi Highlands **Witherbark Village **Boulder'gor **Stromgarde *Hinterlands **Jintha'Alor **Shaol'Watha **Agol'Watha **Hiri'Watha **Shadra'Alor **Revantusk Village (Horde) *Eastern Plaguelands **Zul'Mashar (Undead) See also * http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/story/troll/foresttrolls.html Category:Forest Trolls Category:Trolls Category:Humanoids Category:Horde races Category:Horde factions Category:Creatures